1.Don't roll up to the door looking like rambo 2. Pick the right time of day ,not right in the middle of meal time.3.Ask first could you spare me a few mintues of your time ,as at times cockys are very busy ,and nothing turns them off quicker than you standing there wanting to have a great narn up & they are flat out .4.When driving up to his house DON"T roll right up to the door like you own the place ,stop back at bit but IN FULL view ,so he gets abit of a look at you before you get to the door .5.A bit of small talk can help to break the ice ,weather ,lamb prices ,hows the grass growing etc. 6.If you get a yes to have a shot ,make sure you get permission for a mate as well if you are planing on taking one ,also find out where he DOESN"T want you to go .7.Get a few clear picture on what pests he wishes you to shoot ,and whats non target ,as each farmer will have a different wish .8.If you damage something ,you can't turn back the clock ,what you do from that point on is what matters ,so do the right thing & front up ,the damage WON'T go un noticed. 9.I find, if you arn't going to let the neighbours know you are next door shooting ,STAY well away from the boundarys .Best not to upset them because if they ring the farmer complaining ,hes not going to fall out with them ,hes going to rag your ass. 10.Find out generally whats happening on farms around that area at that time of the year ,rolling up asking to go shooting after lambing ,right in the middle of lambing ,just isn't a great idea ,hes flat out & he will just not be very interested in thinking about you & your wishes .11.Stay well away from any farm buildings or sheds ,farmers hate to see people hanging or poking about their sheds .12.I do from time to time drop a feed of fish off to the stations I go pighunting on,its only a small thing ,but it lets the farmer know that I'm very happy to be able to enjoy his place . I'm sure there are others on here that can add a few more good pointers to getting in the gate ,but above all you as the party leader carry the bag if anyone does anything wrong ,so pick your mates....carefully ...

Good thread! We had some wankers show up when we lived up the Waipara gorge, I got a knock on the door at 10 o'clock at night once. Also make sure you drop him off a cake or a dozen on the way out and offer him a bunny for the cat. Lately I have been struggling for places to hunt but I chop an hours worth of firewood for my main farm each time I go.

If all else fails head to the local and chat up the bird who looks like her old man has a farm.

It pays the confirm with the farmer where the boundarys to the farm is. He may even have a map for you to look at because the neighbours is just a fence away and they don't take kindly to hunters on their property without permission.

great advice rabbiter, also, if your taking dogs, reassure the cocky that it has the right vacinations and is fully stock proof.keep an eye out for any stock in trouble etc and let the cocky know.report signs of other hunters, potential poachers etc as you dont want to get blamed for there actions if they do something wrong, had first hand experiance of this twice!if you ring to ask permission to go for a hunt and the cockys not home, dont leave a message and go anyway unless you know him very well and its ok to do so.dont drive through wet paddocks etc and make a mess to save your self a bit of walking, also dont drive anywere you might get stuck, walking back to ask the cocky to tow you out is a hassle for him and not likely to instill confidance in you.an offer to come and control a few possums/rabbits/pests go's a long way.if you get a turn down, be polite, thank him for his time and call back in a few months, just say you were passing and thought you would drop in to see if he had reconsidered, i picked up a good pheasant property on the third visit.if you have kids that are into hunting, take them and introduce them to the cocky, saying you are looking for somewere safe to take the kids for a bit of outdoor education, cockys wives love that one! phone them after the hunt to let them know how you got on, what you saw etc,above all, respect the property and its owners, give at least as much as you take and you will be welcome back.

Ask what calibre gun he is happy with. A lot of farmers are happy with .22, but might not be so keen on having his farm sound like Iraq with a .308!!!

As rabbiter said: If your a fisherman take the farmer a feed of fish on your return visit, or if you are a pig/deer hunter take him a back leg or some veni steak

May-August - farmers are break-feeding, ask where this is happening and if he would like you to stay a paddock back from this (as some stock are not great behind a wire to start with and will break out causing the farmer a headache in morning)

DONT drive on freshly drilled/sown paddocks, keep away from them until they have been grazed (unless the farmer asks you to shoot the paddocks to get rid of those rabbits!)

During summer, if you see any minor water leaks (soggy green patches) - report these ASAP to the farmer - he may already know about it or it might not even be a broken water pipe. But if you advise him it could SOLVE a lot of headaches for the farmer if hes on creek water that is running out

All good ideas.Another i used to practise was keeping an eye on stock in passing and if anything didcrop up getting back to the cocky pronto with all the details.a couple of times unfortunately i had to put a coup[le of very sick sheep down but the cocky was appreciative of our actions.Iguess above all it boils down to respect and not abusing a gift eh.tube.

One time I interupted my fishing and went all the way back to the farm house to report that a horse was caught up in the fence and struggling to free it self.

I knew the farmer would appreciate my efforts and rush to the aid of his equine friend.

Whe I got the the farm house and told the farmer he turned around and yelled down the hall way to his wife. "get my gun wife, that f**king mare is stuck in the f**king fence again.""Thanks for telling me mate, I've been wanting to get rid of that f**ker for ages and now i've got an excuse".

Hunting wild animals on Department of Conservation administered land during the hours of darkness (˝ hour after sunset to ˝ hour before sunrise) is prohibited.

One time I interupted my fishing and went all the way back to the farm house to report that a horse was caught up in the fence and struggling to free it self.

I knew the farmer would appreciate my efforts and rush to the aid of his equine friend.

Whe I got the the farm house and told the farmer he turned around and yelled down the hall way to his wife. "get my gun wife, that f*cking mare is stuck in the f*cking fence again.""Thanks for telling me mate, I've been wanting to get rid of that f*cker for ages and now i've got an excuse".

Also when you are talking to the farmers always ask where his/her stock is so you can avoid shooting in that direction or area. Even better ask for a farm map as most paddocks these days are numbered. I am lucky that the farm I shoot on I used to work there so I know the place like the back of my hand. Also if you have a suppressed centrefire it is good to say that you do have a high powered rifle with you but it is suppressed to sound like a .22 and generally they will be happy with that.